Can we ME, rent a car in WDW then.....

[jkstewart1800]

drive to the coast for a bit of a beach trip then RETURN the car at the AIRPORT?

and if not...... can we return the car in WDW (from where we rented it) and then take ME back to the airport (5 days after we already checked out?)



thanks!

 

[OKW Lover]

Sure you can return the car to the airport. Be sure to specify this when you make your reservation.

As far as ME goes, you can only use that on the day you check-in and check-out.

 

[skelooch]

I would say picking it up at WDW and returning it to at the airport would be your better option.
National/Alamo have locations at the Dolphin Hotel and the Car Care Center, other rental companies have locations at the DTD area hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd. Some will even pick you up at your resort.

I'm not to sure about the taking the ME 5 days after you check out of your Disney Hotel. It doesn't seem to me to make sense to do that unless the car rental is drastically cheaper returning it to the place you rented it. It will just waste a lot of time.

JMHO

 

[tjmw2727]

Sure you can return the car to the airport. Be sure to specify this when you make your reservation.

As far as ME goes, you can only use that on the day you check-in and check-out.

Not true, you can use DME anytime during your WDW Resort reservation, doesn't have to be check in or check out day. You do have to be a registered guest when you use DME so you can't use DME before or after your WDW resort reservation. My dh has joined us a day or two after our reservation started, left early and we have had one person take DME back to the airport one day early to pick up a rental.

Each person listed on the WDW reservation gets one r/t on DME, during the stay.

OP - I am sorry but I can't tell from your OP if and when you are staying at WDW. You can rent a car from any location and return at any other, sometimes the cost will change so price it out. You can take dme to the airport to rent a car as long as it is the only time you are going from resort to airport and you are a current WDW resort guest.

Perhaps you can follow up with a little more detail?

 

[OKW Lover]

Not true, you can use DME anytime during your WDW Resort reservation, doesn't have to be check in or check out day. You do have to be a registered guest when you use DME so you can't use DME before or after your WDW resort reservation. My dh has joined us a day or two after our reservation started, left early and we have had one person take DME back to the airport one day early to pick up a rental.

Each person listed on the WDW reservation gets one r/t on DME, during the stay.

Good point about when you can use ME. My original comment was directed at the OP who wanted to return the car and take ME well after their stay was over.

 

[goofy4tink]

drive to the coast for a bit of a beach trip then RETURN the car at the AIRPORT?

and if not...... can we return the car in WDW (from where we rented it) and then take ME back to the airport (5 days after we already checked out?)



thanks!

Take DME to your resort. Then, if you rent through National/Alamo, you can pick up your car at the Dophin. Other companies have counters in the DTD hotels...for instance, Budget is at the Doubletree.
Then, head out to the beach and then return your car to MCO. You can not use DME back to the airport once your checkout day has passed.

Or....take DME back to MCO, rent a car there on your checkout day and then head to the beach, and return the car at MCO when you are done.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Yes, you can do a one-way rental between WDW and the airport. In addition to Alamo/National at the Car Center and WDW Dolphin, the other major car rental companies all have locations serving WDW (from locations just outside WDW or at hotel on Hotel Plaza Drive near Downtown Disney).

You just have to reserve the car specifying the correct pick-up and drop-off location.

The rate may be higher than a rental that begins and ends at the airport. Many promotional rates and coupon codes can't be used for one-way car rentals.

If the price is the same or only a few dozen dollars more, the convenience is worth it. But if you find the rate to be hundreds more (such as a $400 rental instead on a $200 rental), then you might be better off using DME to return to the airport and renting the car there.

 

[DebbieB]

You can check your luggage at the resort (if using a participating airline) and then drive your rental car to the airport, you are not required to ride the bus back to the airport.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

You can check your luggage at the resort (if using a participating airline) and then drive your rental car to the airport, you are not required to ride the bus back to the airport.

Huh? I don't understand how this applies to the OP's questions.

The OP's flight home is 5 days after they check out from their WDW resort room. It is NOT possible to use Resort Airline check-in 5 days ahead of time. (It has to be 3 to 12 hours before flight time.) In any case, even it were allowed, I assume they would want their luggage for their nights on the coast.

 

[Hopefully]

We are doing something similar to this in October.
We will be at the BCV for 5 nights, using DME to get from MCO to the BCV.
On our BCV check out day we are renting a car from the Dolphin Hotel for a week and we are headed (hopefully, my 7 month reservation window is next week) to Vero Beach for 6 nights. We are returning the car at MCO.
The cost was $25 more than if we rented from and returned to MCO.
We had thought about one of us taking ME back to MCO on BCV check out day to rent the car and then head to Vero, but for $25 the convenience is well worth it.

 

[snowy76]

The rate may be higher than a rental that begins and ends at the airport. Many promotional rates and coupon codes can't be used for one-way car rentals.

Has anyone else noticed that rentals returned to MCO (rented from another location) don't seem to have the dropoff charge? At least, that's been my experience. It's almost like they're trying to encourage you to bring the cars back to MCO because they need such a large volume of rentals at any one time. Example: I recently booked a one-way from Tampa, returning 12 days later at MCO. It was even cheaper than if I booked MCO-MCO.

 

[juliebean]

Check to see how much the rental would be for your entire trip also....

It is counterintuitive, but it was less for us to rent a car from MCO for 8 days ($187 for a midsize, pre-Easter week) than to rent from near Disney for 4 days. It was also slightly less than to rent from MCO for 4 days, go figure.

Just wanted to urge you to check out all your options. Have a good vacation!

 

[tjmw2727]

Has anyone else noticed that rentals returned to MCO (rented from another location) don't seem to have the dropoff charge? At least, that's been my experience. It's almost like they're trying to encourage you to bring the cars back to MCO because they need such a large volume of rentals at any one time. Example: I recently booked a one-way from Tampa, returning 12 days later at MCO. It was even cheaper than if I booked MCO-MCO.

A little OT but yes, most of the time you pay a fee to return a car somewhere other than where you picked it up, esp an offiste or non airport location. I have found FL and CA to be the exceptions - often the same $ or only slighly more. In the case of CA, I picked up at Orange County and returned at LAX and it was cheaper than either Orange County to Orange County or LAX to LAX. Worked out very well

 

[jkstewart1800]

thanks for the answers guys! I will check out both options.... the DME, rent at Dolphin, return at MCO

and just the regular ol' rent at MCO and return at MCO option!

Thanks for all your help!